Stanchion



(No Model.)

R. C. MEAD.

STANGHION.

Patented N. PETERS. Fhnxa-Luhogmphnr. wasmngmn'. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEiCEO REUBEN CASH MEAD, OF NE'QV HAMPTON,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN E. EARLE, OF MIDDLETOWN, NEV YORK.

STANCHION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0.-341,107, dated May 4,1986.

Application tiled January 26, 1886.

To all whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, REUBEN CAsH MEAD, a citizen ot' the United States,residing at New Hampton, in the county of Orangeand State of New York,have invented certain new and useful'Improvements-in Stanchions, and Ido declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rlhe object of my invention is to so construct a series of stanchions asto enable a number of cattle to be simultaneously released, theconstruction being such, however, that one or more animals can, ifdesired, be secured or 2o released without disturbing the others.

In the drawingssimilar letters of reference refer to similar parts.

Figure l is a perspective view showing the stanchions closed. y Fig. 2shows the manner of opening the stanchions to release the cat tle. Fig.3 is a detail sectional view.

The stanchioniramc A B C Dis ofthe usual construction. The stationarystanchioirbars E E are irmly secured at each end to this frame. Themovable stanchion-bars F F are pivoted at their lower ends to the flooror to the cross-bar B. Each pivot is at one side of the vertical linepassing through the center of gravity ot' the bar, so that` the lattertends to fall away from its companion stationary bar. The upper ends ofthe lnovable stanchion-bars are received in guides G G, formed in orattached to the upper cross-bar, A, and project slightly above saidcross-bar. They are bev- 4o eled, as shown, to enable them to lift thehinged holding-loops H H, when the movable stanchion-bars are closed tosecure the cattle, the loops dropping down over the projecting ends ofthe bars, as shown in Fig. l.

As each loop H is free to rise and fall independently of the others, itwill be readily understood that any one or more animals can be securedor released without disturbing the others5-but it may be desirable attimes to liberate all the cattle at once, as for the purpose of drivingthem to pasture, but more espe- Serial No. 189,85*?. (No model.)

cially in event of a fire, a flood, or any other sudden emergency.

.of movement ofthe stanchion-bars F F, so as not to hamper or interferewith their freedom in any way. The horizontal arms t' Ji of these leverslie under the loops H H. The vertical arms t" i lie outside of thecross-bar A, and 50. do not come in contact with or actuate thestancl1ion-bars F F or any'other part of the device. A series ofconnecting-rods, K K, unites the several lever-arms 'i' fl, whereby saidlevers can be moved simultaneously one way or the other. One of theserods K passes out through the wall or other siding of the stable, and isprovided with a handle, L, or a lever, or other convenient means foroperating it from the exterior of the building. At the other end of therods is a spring, M, or a weight to retract said rods and retain thelever-arms t i t" fi normallyin the position shown in Fig. 1. The solepurpose ot' this mechanism is to lift and lower the holdingioops H Hwithout in any way interfering with or restricting the operation of theother parts.

The operation of these devices is apparent. By pulling` at the handle Lthe rods K K cause the bell-crank levers to lift the hinged loops 8C HH, thus setting free the movable stanchionbars F F, which fall away andrelease the cattle, as shown in Fig. 2. A suitable fastening device-suchas the wedge N inserted behind the handle If-serves to keep the loops HH S5 raised, so that in case any one of the movable stanchion-barsshould bind in its guide G, it would still be possible for the animal toforce it open and escape. Then at any subsequent time the wedge N iswithdrawn, the bell-crank 9o levers are returned to their normalposition by the spring M. and rods K K, while the loops H H are loweredupon the cross-bar A, in readiness to be lifted by the beveled upperends of the movable stanchion-bars when they are closed to secure thecattle again. By having the handle L on the outside of the building, onecan release the cattle without entering, which is an advantage in caseof tire when the stable may be full of smoke.

For the sake of cheapness and ease of construction, I prefer to make myholding-loops,

IOO

bell-crank levers, and connectingrods out of iron rods or other similarmateriahin substantially the form shown in the drawings, so that theycan be readily constructed by any blacksmith. The holding-loops and thepart i of the bell crank levers are substantially U- shaped, as shown.The latter may be received in notches O, cut in the crossbar A, and oneor both sides of the cross-bar may be recessed, as shown at I?, Fig. 3,to prevent the cattle from interfering with the mechanism.

I am aware that a series of slotted hinged latches has been connected bycords or chains to a sliding bar provided with inclines on its underside, whereby, when the bar is slid lengthwise in itssupports, it willbe raised and will lift all the latches and release the stauchion-bars,which are then thrown open by Springs.

I am also aware that a series of levers has bien used, each one engagingwith a movable stanehion-bar, and provided with a special rod running toa lever, whereby it may be operated to open or close the stanchion-bar,each lever also having a pin or lng for liftingthe link, which retainsthe stanchion-bar in place when closed. Every time a lever is actuatedit opens or closes its stanchionebar. Nor can a stanchion-bar be movedwithout at the saine ti me actuating its lever. For this reason thelevers cannot be advantageously united to move simultaneously as in myconstruction, since this would prevent the independent manipulation ofany one or more of the stanchion-bars in case it was desired to releasebut one or two or a few of the animals.

Any one or more of the stanchionbars in my device can be operatedwithout disturbing either the other bars or any oi" the levers.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with the cross-bars A and B, of aseries ofstationarystanchion-bars,

-a series of movable stanchionbars, a series of hinged holding-loops, aseries of bell-crank levers located out ofthe path of the movablestanchion bars so as not to restrict their freedom in any Way, one armof'each leverlying under its corresponding holding-loop, the other armsbeing united by a series of connectingvrods, substantially as and for'the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, of the cross-bar A, provided with guides G Gr, withthe cross-bar B, a series of stationary stanchion-bars, a series ofmovable stanchion-bars, a series of hinged holdingloops, a series ofbell-crank levers located out of thepath of the movablestanchioir bars,one arm of each lever being arranged to lift its correspondingholding-loop, a'serics of connecting-rods uniting the other arms of saidlevers, and means for returning them to and retaining them in a normalposition, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the cross-har A, provided with guides Gr G, ofthe cross-bar B. a series of stationary stanchion-bars, aseries ofmovable stanchiolrbars pivoted at one side of their center of'gravity, aseries of hinged U- shaped holding-loops, a series of bell-crank leuvers located out of the path of movement of the pivoted.stanchion-bars,one arm of each lever lying under its corresponding holding-loop, and aseries of connecting rods uniting the other arms of said levers,substantially as and i'or the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the cross-bar A, having the guides G G, of thecross-bar B, a series of stationary stauchion-bars, a series of movablestanchion-bars, a series of hinged holding-loops, a series of bell-cranklevers located out of the path of the movable stanchion-bars, a seriesof rods connecting said levers, a handle, L, a retracting device, M, anda wedge, N, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

REUBEN CASH MEAD.

Vi tn esses:

Wim H. Beanies,

I. L. MILLS.

